Sarah's Journal

Random Thoughts of Writer Sarah Beth Durst

Monday, May 27, 2013

The Writer's Toolbox: First Lines

Hi! I'd like to introduce a new blog series today: the Writer's Toolbox. In these posts, I want to talk about (and hear your thoughts on) nitty-gritty writing stuff, the tools and techniques of the craft of writing.

So let's dive right in... First topic: first lines!

Everyone knows the opening line of a story or novel is important. Every writer agonizes over it. Some can't even start until they have it.

Okay, yes. *raises hand* That's me. I have to be in love with my first line before I can write the rest of the book. Sometimes it comes to me quickly; sometimes I have to write a bajillion openings until I find one that feels right. But I need to have that sentence (or two or three) before I can proceed.

There are lots of great first lines out there. And there are lots of different kinds of great first lines. For me personally, the ones that work best do one of four things:

1. Establish what's normal"Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife." -- L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of OzIn this one sentence, we know instantly where we are and what kind of people we're with. This is both an important and appropriate opening for this novel: We have to know what's normal for Dorothy, i.e. what her sepia-toned world is, so that we can appreciate the contrast when we're swept away into technicolor.

"Lyra and her daemon moved through the darkening hall, taking care to keep to one side, out of sight of the kitchen." -- Philip Pullman, The Golden CompassWe may not know what a "daemon" is, but we know instantly that Lyra knows. The simple word "her" does all the work here. She's with "her daemon." This establishes right away that what's normal for Lyra isn't normal for us.

2. Set up expectations

"Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood. If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life." -- Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief

Setting up the right expectations is crucial. You can write the best mystery in the world, but if a reader thinks you're going to deliver a romance, then odds are he or she will be disappointed. This opening sets us up to expect a dangerous, out-of-the-ordinary adventure. And that's exactly what we get.

"Human girls cry when they're sad and laugh when they're happy. They have a single fixed shape rather than shifting with their whims like wind-blown smoke. They have their very own parents, whom they love. They don't go around stealing other girls' mothers. At least that's what Kaye thought human girls were like. She wouldn't really know. After all, she wasn't human." -- Holly Black, Ironside

With this opening, we expect magic in the real world. We expect to see it (and us) through the eyes of a nonhuman. Also, we expect some parent issues.

3. Start the action

"Alanna the Lioness, the King's Champion, could hardly contain her glee. Baron Piers of Mindelan had written to King Jonathan to say that his daughter wished to be a page." -- Tamora Pierce, First Test (Protector of the Small)

This is a somewhat unusual opening because it isn't from the protagonist's point-of-view. It's from the pov of the protagonist of Pierce's earlier series, essentially handing the story baton to the new lady-knight-to-be. But I think it works as an opening because in the space of two sentences, you know the entire core conflict for the next four books: a girl wants to be trained openly as a knight.

"Gordon Edgley's sudden death came as a shock to everyone -- not least himself." -- Derek Landy, Skullduggery Pleasant

Every story has a catalyst -- the event that rocks the status quo and propels the protagonist into the adventure. Some books establish normal first and shortly after turn it upside down. Others, like this novel, begin right away with the catalyst. The death in this first sentence is what leads to all the events in the rest of the book.

"On the day she was to die, Liyana walked out of her family's tent to see the dawn." -- Sarah Beth Durst, Vessel

This novel also begins with the day that changes everything, the day that the protagonist has been anticipating for years, the biggest moment in her life. I believe a novel really should be about the most meaningful thing to happen to a character -- otherwise, there's no reason to tell the story. With this sort of opening, we're diving directly in.

4. Set the tone

"There is a certain kind of girl the goblins crave. You could walk across a high school campus and point them out: not her, not her, her. The pert, lovely ones with butterfly tattoos in secret places, sitting on their boyfriends' laps? Yes. Them. The goblins want girls who dream so hard about being pretty their yearning leaves a palpable trail, a scent goblins can follow like sharks on a soft bloom of blood. The girls with hungry eyes who pray each night to wake up as someone else. Urgent, unkissed, wishful girls. Like Kizzy." -- Laini Taylor, Lips Touch Three Times

This beginning does establish a character, but more than that, it sets a tone. We expect this story to be poetic, like the Goblin Market poem it's based on.

"If Sarah hadn't put the monkey in the bathtub, we might never have had to help the monsters get big. But she did, so we did, which, given the way things worked out, was probably just as well for everyone on the planet -- especially the dead people." -- Bruce Coville, The Monsters of Morley Manor

This one sets the tone for a madcap adventure. It works for me because it both makes me smile and makes me ask why. I think it's my favorite opening line of all-time.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Nebula Awards Weekend 2013

This weekend, I flew to San Jose, California, for Nebula Awards Weekend. Vessel was a finalist for the Andre Norton Award, and I was not missing out on the free unicorns. (As everyone knows, all award nominees automatically receive three free unicorns. If you show up, you are given the ones that are housebroken. If you don't, they ship you the leftover unicorns, and believe me, the bill for cleaning rainbows out of carpets is HUGE.)

Seriously though, I was -- and am -- so thrilled and honored that Vessel was nominated, and I was delighted to be able to attend.

I arrived late on Thursday night and woke up on Friday bright, chipper, and ready to say hello, hello, hello to people... at 4am. (Or at least that's the time the crazy west-coast clock said it was. My east-coast body begged to differ...) I tried again at 6am. And then at 7am. And then 8am... at which point my paranoid side started to whisper maybe I was in the wrong hotel or the wrong state or had the wrong weekend, but then I spotted some people that I knew and all was well with the world, at least until I trotted off in search of registration and walked straight into a dental hygiene seminar. Sadly, they did not have any unicorns.

Anyway, I found my badge eventually, and then I viewed a mummified fish, joined a posse, got pinned, got photographed, got dressed up, and ate a salad while waving at my husband on the other side of the country. In that order.

I didn't see much of San Jose on this trip, but here is the view from my hotel room:

My one big trip out of the hotel was to tour the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. I went with a dozen other attendees in a stretch limo that boasted broken window controls, dusty glass decanters, and a dubious odor. We were fairly certain we were all going to die. Or be taken back in time to a 1980s prom. But we arrived safely at the Egyptian museum...

... where we saw a mummified fish...

... and toured a reproduction of a tomb, which was pretty much one of the coolest things I've ever seen in a museum. Once we were allowed off on our own, I promptly went back in and spent many lovely moments imagining it was real and that I was an ancient Egyptian.

Okay, that's not really true. I totally imagined I was the goddess Isis. She so rocks. Did you know she was one of the first kickass heroines? She quested through Egypt with her pack of awesome giant scorpions in search of the pieces of her slain husband's body. But I digress.

After the fish and the tomb came the posse.

The Friday night of Nebula Awards Weekend has always been my favorite part. It starts with a mass autographing at the hotel and concludes with the Nominee Reception. Not to be missed. This year, the Norton nominees who were there on Friday (Leah Bobet, Alethea Kontis, Eugene Myers, and me) claimed a table and formed the Norton posse. (Jenn Reese joined us on Saturday.) In all seriousness, they were a large part of what made the weekend great, and I adore them.

After a break for dinner withadditional fabulous people, I went to the Nominee Reception, which was held in a room lit by green lights and decorated with glowing white roses. It also had exit signs near the floor, which Eugene claimed were there to guide crawling people in case of a fire, but I was convinced were there to guide the rescue hedgehogs in case of any emergency. For the record, Alethea agreed with me.

During the reception, the nominees were all awarded certificates and "Nebula Nominee" pins. Here's my snazzy certificate:

And we were taken into a non-green room for professional photographs of the entire group. The photographers told us to come back later if we wanted additional shots. I don't think they actually expected anyone to take them up on that, but the Norton posse is all about defying expectations. We returned and much fun was had taking all sorts of pictures.

We then returned to the reception for more discussion of hedgehogs, and I performed a maneuver not unlike Cinderella taking the unbroken glass slipper from her pocket and pulled my other two Norton nominee pins (from when Into the Wild and Ice were nominated) out of my purse and put all three on my badge. They make me very happy, and when else do I ever get the chance to wear them?

On Saturday, I again woke early (though thankfully not as insanely early as on Friday), and I did some writing. Appropriately, the artwork in the hotel room featured old typewriters. Here's my desk in the hotel room:

Saturday officially started with a SFWA Business Meeting, which I enjoyed. (I mean that seriously. The first thing I did after signing my first book contract was mail in my membership application to SFWA, and I enjoy being a member and doing memberly things.) Plus this meeting had lots of food.

I had my second interview of the weekend after that, a joint one with Leah Bobet (conducted by Carrie of the fabulous blogsSmart Bitches Read Trashy Books and Geek Girl in Love). The first interview was for the SFWA website, and I believe it will be posted soon as a podcast. Both interviews were really fun.

In the afternoon, Leah Bobet, Steven Gould, Eugene Myers, and I did a panel called "Writing for YA," which began with Steven demonstrating his skill with falling and rolling and included my oversharing the fact that as a child, I didn't realize that Bambi's mother died. I thought his parents had simply divorced and it was time for him to go live with his dad for a while.

And then at night... the banquet!

Time for my dress! I’d actually starting regretting the fact that I’d gone with a cocktail dress rather than a ball gown or a floor-length evening gown for the banquet. Alethea even kindly offered me a tiara to make me feel better -- thank you, Alethea! -- but I decided to stick with my own jewelry and once I put on my dress, I remembered why I'd picked it. It makes my eyes look totally Fremen blue.

I don't have any photos of the reception or the banquet itself, but there were many glorious dresses and tuxes and sparkles and sequins. Even Barry, Lawrence Schoen's little pet buffalo, was dressed up all dapper. I was seated at a great table filled with fabulous people, one of whom (thank you, Dawn!) was kind enough to discover for me that there was a live stream of the event. I promptly texted my husband back home, and he promptly found it and proceeded to watch all of us eat food for the next hour and a half.

I love that SFWA did the live stream. It made me feel like my husband was right there with me, and that made the whole evening extra special. Like the true professional I am, I of course waved and blew kisses at him via the video camera at every opportunity.

When they announce the awards, it really feels like the Oscars. They project the names of the nominees on a big screen and read the names, and it's all really exhilarating. Steven Gould introduced the Andre Norton Award, and it was a lovely intro. He read the opening lines of a dozen classic MG/YA novels, and those sentences alone said everything. They encapsulate why YA and all of children's literature is important: because it touches that bit of you that is eternally young and full of wonder. I think he's planning to post it online soon, and I dare you to read that list and not be filled with memories.

In the end, I didn't win. The winner of this year's Andre Norton Award was Eugene Myers for Fair Coin from Pyr. But I am really, really thrilled for Eugene! He's a great guy, and it's a great book. (I blurbed it, in fact.) Yay, Eugene!

It was really so much fun to be a part of this event. I had such a big smile on my face through the whole thing that after the ceremony, Robert Silverberg (the MC) said to me, "You should win a Nebula for your smile. It lights up the room," which only served to make me smile all the more.

Thank you to SFWA and to all the organizers and volunteers who made the Nebula Weekend possible. I had a fantastic time! And I love my three unicorns.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

VESSEL is a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Finalist!

Got some wonderful news today!

Vessel has been selected as a finalist for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award!!!

I am so very thrilled and honored. In years past, I've used the list of Mythopoeic finalists to find books to add to my far-too-long-already books-to-read list, and now my book is on that list! Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

Info about the award and the full list of finalists can be found here, on the Mythopoeic Society website.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Stuff I've Learned: Don't Wait for Inspiration

In my last post, I touched briefly on inspiration, and that inspired me to devote a whole post to it. (See what I did there? It inspired me. Get it? Okay. Moving on...)

Here are two quotes that I like about inspiration:

"Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working." -- Pablo Picasso

"You can't wait for inspiration; you have to go after it with a club." -- Jack London

I'd like to point out that while Jack London probably had an actual club that he used to chase down his muse while riding bareback on a timber wolf, you don't need a club.

Might help to have a wolf.

I have clear memories of myself as a teenager sitting someplace picturesque with a notebook and pen, waiting for inspiration and not writing a single word. I remember quitting story after story because I didn't feel inspired to continue. Or not writing for days and days because the muse wouldn't come, and I wasn't in the mood.

I wish I could borrow a time machine and smack myself on the back of the head.

Yes, there are writers who only write when they feel inspired. And if that works for them, great. But the vast majority of people who only write when they feel inspired probably won't finish their novel at all. Ever.

Don't wait for inspiration.

Inspiration is a slippery minnow in a silt-saturated stream. You see it once, and then it's gone. But that's enough to know that this stream has life in it, and you should plop your fishing pole into it and see what comes up.

You don't need to feel inspired in order to write. Really, you don't. Your job is to string words together in sentences. You can do that job whatever your mood. The words don't care if you're feeling lightning-strike joy or humdrum malaise.

I can practically hear someone out there saying, "But the words won't be any good! If I don't feel inspired, the story will feel flat."

So what? Say you write five pages of complete garbage. Say you know as you write it that you're going to toss the entire scene. Nothing in it is worth keeping. Except that one sentence in the middle of page four. Yeah, that one's not bad. In fact, if you built a scene around that sentence instead, then the story could really move! And if that other character said that bit of dialogue... Hello, inspiration, I didn't see you come in. I was just here busy working.

In my experience, inspiration is far more likely to hit if you're already writing.

If you show up at your desk to write every day, odds are that the muse will wander by to see what you're doing. And if you don't... she's going fishing without you.

Sunday, May 05, 2013

Stuff I've Learned: Write Every Day

I know some writers who are binge writers. Every few months, they drown themselves in their stories. Sometimes they check into a hotel or go on an intensive writer's retreat. More often, they shut themselves in their office or plant themselves in a cafe all day, every day. For several weeks, they put the rest of their life on hold, and they hammer out a novel. Then they return to the world, take a few months off from writing, and let their creative well refill until it's time to binge-write again.

That's a perfectly valid writing process, and if it works for you, yay!

It doesn't work for me. I can't put the rest of my life on hold. The rest of my life would FREAK OUT. And besides, if I took a few months off writing, I'd be miserable. In fact, if I take a few days off, I'm miserable. So that brings us to one of the biggest things I've learned about my own writing process: I need to write every day.

I need to write in the same way that I need food, sleep, and shelter.

You may think that sounds all cutesy and artsy. "I need to write like I need to sleep." Seriously? Melodramatic much?

Seriously, yes. And it's not so much "cutesy" as annoying. Just ask my husband. If I skip a night of sleep, I am as grumpy as a raccoon in daytime. And if I skip a day of writing... exact same thing. Whether I write or not directly affects my mood and my worldview. It doesn't even matter if the writing goes well or not. If I don't write, the world feels out of balance, and the glass looks half empty.

Stupid thing is that I often forget this. Life will intrude, and I'll miss my chance to write, and there I'll be, feeling out-of-sorts, with no idea why. My husband will come home from work and within ten minutes he can diagnose my problem. And sure enough, as soon as I go string a few sentences together, I feel better and the world feels brighter and the birds are singing and tra-la-la-la-la.

So to maintain my own happiness level, I need to write every day.

The act of writing every day -- even if it's just for five minutes -- has several other great benefits:

1. It makes writing less scary.

It's easy to put "write a novel" up on a pedestal as this grand, lofty goal that can only be accomplished when everything is perfect (i.e. you have a lovely stretch of free time, solitude and silence, and lightning-bolt-level feelings of pure inspiration). Thinking of it this way can lead you to push it off again and again.

But if you write every day, it makes the act of writing not such a big deal. You don't have to write a novel today. Really, you don't. You just have to string a few sentences together. Just like you did yesterday, and just like you'll do tomorrow.

2. It decreases the throat-clearing time.

If you write every day, then writing becomes a habit like brushing your teeth. You don't get nervous when you have to brush your teeth. You don't wait to be in the right mood. You don't play mood music or give yourself pep talks or take deep cleansing breaths. You just walk into the bathroom and brush those pearly whites.

Writing is not so different. When it becomes a habit, you will find that you need less prep time at the start of a writing session. You won't need as many rituals to get in the mood. Plus the story will be fresh in your mind, as will the character's voices, since you just worked on it yesterday.

3. It invites the muse.

If you write every day, instead of waiting for inspiration, you are inviting inspiration to come join you. I believe that if you show up to your desk (or wherever you write) every day, then the muse will know where to find you.

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

Cover Art Reveal: THE LOST

I am extremely excited to share with you the cover art for my first novel for adults, THE LOST, coming from Harlequin / Luna on October 29, 2013:

I am so in love with this cover. In fact, I keep opening the jpeg simply to look at it. I love the overlay of colors. I love the watercolor paint effect. I love the silhouettes at the top, especially the single balloon that always floats over Lost... Thank you so much to the design team at Luna for giving THE LOST such a magnificent cover!!From the jacket flap:Lost your way?

Your dreams?

Yourself?

Welcome to Lost.

It was supposed to be a small escape. A few hours driving before turning around and heading home. But once you arrive in Lost... well, it's a place you really can't leave. Not until you're Found. Only the Missing Man can send you home. And he took one look at Lauren Chase and disappeared.

So Lauren is now trapped in the town where all lost things go -- luggage, keys, dreams, lives -- where nothing is permanent, where the locals go feral and where the only people who don't want to kill her are a handsome wild man called the Finder and a knife-wielding six-year-old girl. The only road out of town is engulfed by an impassable dust storm, and escape is impossible....

Until Lauren decides nothing -- and no one -- is going to keep her here anymore.So, what do you guys think?!?!?!?!?!?!?

About Me

I'm the author of sixteen fantasy books for adults, teens, and kids. Several of these have won awards, including THE QUEEN OF BLOOD, which won the ALA Alex Award, and VESSEL, which won the Mythopoeic Award. My latest book for kids is THE STONE GIRL'S STORY and my latest series for adults is THE QUEENS OF RENTHIA, available now from HMH/Clarion Books and Harper Voyager, respectively. I'm very, very, very excited about this.

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The Reluctant Queen

The fate of two nations depends on three women: a young queen who is dying, a powerful queen who hungers for war, and a middle-aged woman who wants nothing to do with the power she could wield. They must each do what they think is best for their kingdoms -- or die trying.
Available now from
Harper Voyager.
Read the first two chapters.Order now!

"In Durst's excellent second Queens of Renthia fantasy, the world of Renthia remains a dangerous place where the spirits of the elements want to kill humans, and only powerful queens...can control them.... Durst throws a lot of balls in the air but manages to juggle them deftly.... New readers will benefit from starting with the first book, but they'll want to get to this one as soon as they can." -- Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Roar and Sparkles Go to School

Let first-day-of-school worries soar away with Roar and Sparkles!

Roar is worried about his first day of school. He's worried that he'll have to do really hard things, like molt his scales or fly over a volcano. And what if his teacher doesn't like dragons?

Big sister Sparkles reassures Roar that school is fun! And when the first day arrives, Roar finds his worries melt away. He meets new friends, plays dragon games, listens to fun stories, and finds a way to thank his sister for her support.

"The lively details of Roar's daily life might be just enough to let readers temporarily forget about their own back-to-school nervousness." -- Publishers Weekly

Journey Across the Hidden Islands

The traditional Emperor's Journey is meant to be uneventful. But as the princesses Seika and Ji-Lin -- twin sisters -- travel to pay respects to their kingdom's dragon guardian, unexpected monsters appear and tremors shake the earth. The Hidden Islands face unprecedented threats, and the old rituals are failing. With only their strength, ingenuity, and flying lion to rely on, can the sisters find a new way to keep their people safe?
Available now from
HMH / Clarion Books.
Read the first two chapters.Order now!

"This adventure has surprise after surprise, and I love Durst's sly sense of humor!" -- Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author of the Tortall series

The Queen of Blood

Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow... But these are not sweet, frolicking nature sprites from a pastoral tale. The spirits that reside within this land want to kill all humans, the way white blood cells want to kill a virus. Only a few women have the power to command and control the spirits. These women become queens -- or die trying.
Available now from
Harper Voyager.
Read the first two chapters.Order now!

"A truly wonderful fantasy story. Filled with fresh ideas and excitement, told with verve and heart." -- Terry Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of the Shannara series

"Thrilling, heartrending, enchanting, absolutely un-put-down-able!" -- Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author of the Tortall series

The Girl Who Could Not Dream

The story of a girl whose family owns a secret dream shop where they buy, bottle, and sell dreams, and the adventure that she and her best friend -- a loyal and cupcake-loving monster named Monster -- go on when someone starts kidnapping dreamers.
Available now from
HMH / Clarion Books.
Read the first two chapters.Order now!

"Boy, do readers have a treat in store for them! Funny, scary, and endlessly inventive, this is the kind of book I would have adored as a kid." -- Bruce Coville, author of Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher

"A perfect combination of adventure, humor, and pure imagination!" -- Jessica Day George, New York Times bestselling author of the Tuesdays at the Castle series

"A twisted circus of a book, completely freaky and delicious at the same time. It's a thriller, a fairy tale nightmare, and a romance all in one, unlike anything else and impossible to predict. I could not stop reading!" --
Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series

"Durst combines the particular terrors of memory loss and icy bureaucracy with the colorful horrors of carnivalesque murder, killer sleight-of-hand, and a creepy, terrible truth about Eve's very being. Disorientation, curiosity, and fear course through the story, offering tight suspense and satisfying mystification even up to the last pages. An unusual blend of magical worlds, psychological thriller, and teen romance." --
Horn Book

"Combining a sense of humor with the dark appeal of supernatural romance, this book is funny, scary and thought provoking all at once. Even jaded fans of the supernatural will find fun in this one." --
Kirkus Reviews

"Having her way with the conventions of the genre, Durst crafts a fresh, modern, and humorous twist on the vampire novel. Lively characters and a sweet romance are icing on the cake." --
Publishers Weekly

Enchanted Ivy

A story about getting into college. You know, taking the campus tour, talking to the gargoyles, flirting with the were-tigers, riding the dragons... While visiting the campus of Princeton University, 16-year-old Lily discovers a secret gate to a magical realm and must race against time to save herself, her world, and any hope she has of college admission.
Available now from
Simon & Schuster / Margaret K. McElderry Books.
Read the first chapter.Order now!

"ICE is a beautiful and shivery tale of sacrifice and love. Highly recommended, and just in time for the winter season." -- Becca Fitzpatrick, author of
Hush, Hush

Out of the Wild

Join Julie on a magical road trip across America. A flying bathmat, a very drowsy princess, a fire- breathing dragon, and several
thousand magic beanstalks... Julie's world, our world, will never be the same again. A sequel to Into the Wild, available now from
Penguin Young Readers /
Razorbill.
Read the first chapter.Order now!

"An enchanting romp full of adventure, humor and cleverness!" --
Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of The Spiderwick Chronicles and Tithe

"An amazing, wild ride with very high stakes, and the fate of humans and fairytale people alike on the shoulders of one determined girl.
This is even better than the first book!" --
Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author of Terrier (Beka Cooper) and The Will of the Empress

"This is one of those rare occasions when the sequel is as good as the first book, if not better. Though, in my estimation, they make two
halves of one story, and what a wonderfully entertaining story it is." -- Charles de Lint, author of
The Blue Girl and Widdershins

"Head-spinning fun! Any book that mixes fire breathing dragons and Elvis Presley is a rare treat." --
Michael Buckley, New York Times bestselling author of The Sisters Grimm series

"INTO THE WILD is VERY cool, with a unique look at the great fairytale characters. I couldn't put it down
until I knew how this brave, extraordinary girl could face such powerful magic!" --
Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author of Terrier (Beka Cooper) and The Will of the Empress

"Sarah Beth Durst's INTO THE WILD is fabulous in the oldest, truest, and best sense of the word, harking
back to fables, wonder, and magic unleashed. It's bold, sassy, and utterly engaging. I can't wait to see
what she does next!" -- Bruce Coville, author of
The Unicorn Chronicles and Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher

"INTO THE WILD's fairy-tale characters are fascinating, and Julie is everything one could want in a heroine
-- she's intelligent, practical, determined and brave; at once more ordinary and more extraordinary than she
herself thinks she is. I'll be keeping an eye out for more work from Sarah Beth Durst." --
Patricia C. Wrede, author of The Enchanted Forest Chronicles